Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

6 reviews

litoreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book is gorgeously written, well-paced, and it deserves the highest praise possible. I cannot believe I was so lucky for this to be my first read of 2024. The bar has been set ridiculously high in terms of ratings.

The story follows a cleric who is listening to an older woman named Rabbit's story about the Empress of Salt and Fortune, In-yo. We learn that Rabbit and In-yo had a beautiful human relationship one can only describe as non-romantic soul mates. They would do anything for each other while maintaining public appearances as royalty and handmaiden.

No spoilers, but the ending truly shows the level of this friendship and how beautiful human connection can be. This novella is short and perfect. If I can finish it in a couple of hours, so can you, and you ABSOLUTELY should.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Body shaming and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

indeedithappens's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

its2early4this's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This was an interesting book, particularly in how it was written. I enjoyed the storytelling through someone's memories and items. I liked that the world was revealed through glimpses, and that the author didn't just tell how things work in their world, but rather showed what happened and trusted that the reader was intelligent enough to make connections and understand (this is a major plus for me in any book). The biggest downfall for me was that, because of how the story was told, the characters felt distant. I wasn't as attached to them as I might have otherwise been. And things that would ordinarily have felt tragic didn't impact me much at all. Because it is a quick read, it still is probably worth the time invested, and I wouldn't be opposed to reading the others in the series if I have nothing else pressing to read. But the book wasn't particularly memorable for me. I did enjoy how the Empress's story ended. And I did like seeing the story of someone important and powerful told through the eyes of their servant. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and War

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Racism, Grief, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Infertility, and Sexual content

Most of the things that are likely to be triggering are not described in any great detail, due to the way the book is written. Loss/grief and pregnancy are probably the triggers dealt with the most in-depth. Although war plays a major role in the story, it is only really talked about from a distant perspective.

jjjreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Slavery, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

Minor: Violence and War

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Xenophobia, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide and War

jehansflowers's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

oh my god this book was so gorgeous. i dont even know how to put into words what i feel about this book but just like *chefs kiss*

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infertility, Blood, and Murder